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Can Bonita take advantage of West Covina’s slip-up?

Three weeks ago the Bonita High School football team was coming off its third consecutive loss to begin the season.

The Bearcats had scored 20 points in their last two games combined. First-year coach Adrian Medrano was desperate for a win prior to Hacienda League play, which can be wildly unpredictable due to the depth of the league.

Three weeks later, Bonita is coming off its third consecutive win.

The Bearcats have scored an average of 53 points per game during their three-game winning streak. Bonita sits alone in first place in the Hacienda League, proving true the unpredictably of the league in a fashion nobody could have imagined. Bonita’s next opponent, two-time defending CIF and league champion West Covina, lost by three on Friday to a Hacienda Heights Los Altos team that lost its league opener to Diamond Bar, 40-3.
“This is the craziest I’ve ever seen a league’s parity,” Medrano said. “For us to get comfortable would be the biggest mistake we could make.”

It’s safe to say that Medrano is more comfortable than he was following a 27-20 loss to Whitter La Serna on Sept. 7 that ended a stretch during which Bonita lost a one-point game to bitter rival San Dimas and was shutout by West Covina South Hills.

Reggie Turner has helped make sure there haven’t been any shutouts since. The senior running back has 12 touchdowns during the Bonita three-game win streak. He has only rushed for less than 91 yards once this season, when South Hills held him to 61 in the shutout. As far as the touchdowns are concerned, Turner has a few people to thank.

“A lot of those were because we had a short field,” Medrano said. “I think we’re starting to develop an identity. I think we’re a team that’s able to play some good defense, particularly last week.”

Bonita has allowed just 14 points per game during the last three weeks, some of which have come in garbage time of three consecutive blowouts won by an average margin of 39 points.

The toughest the Hacienda League has to offer is yet to come, beginning with two-time defending CIF champion West Covina Oct. 12. The good news is Bonita has a bye on Friday, giving it two weeks to prepare for the league champs.

“We can’t look at West Covina’s loss as making them weaker,” Medrano said. “They probably had a wake-up call. They’re probably going to come out more fired up than ever.”